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Moving on

Tigers defeat Merino to reach district tournament

By Brandon Boles

Times Sports Reporter

Posted:
05/10/2016 05:14:11 PM MDT

Wiggins baseball head coach Aaron Phillips (left, crouching) gets a bucket of water poured on him after their 10-1 win over Merino on Tuesday that sent the Tigers to the district tournament for the first time in six years. (Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times)

A motivated Tigers team would not come up empty as they defeated Merino 10-1 to advance to their district tournament on Friday.

"The guys have put in a lot of hard work and effort, and I've challenged the guys each and every day," Phillips said. "I can't say enough about their effort and their heart. This team wants to get to the tournament and make some noise."

Junior Isaac Oberg got the start and set the tone for the Tigers in the game. He did not allow a run to score in the first or second inning to keep the game scoreless. Wiggins jumped on the board first when sophomore Cael Croissant and freshman Bryce Ford scored on a fielding error in the bottom of the second.

Those two runs would be more than enough support for Oberg.

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In six innings of work, Oberg allowed just one run, despite the fact that five of his six innings saw the leadoff man get aboard. He pitched to contact and kept the Merino hitters off balanced all game long to prevent much damage from happening.

"It was just the mindset I had really," Oberg said. "That's been the hard part I've had all season, so this week I focused on the mental side. I just really focused on the plate today."

Meanwhile, the Tigers made their own adjustments at the plate. In the first meeting against Merino pitcher Colin Mertens, his off-speed and curveball pitches caught the Tigers swinging too early and making solid contact in a 5-4 loss, the Rams' lone win this season.

On Tuesday, Phillips and his staff had the team take live batting practice, seeing nothing but slow pitches so his team could work on what that had to do at the plate differently on Tuesday.

"Those coaches showed us everything that we saw from that game during batting practice, so it was really that mental preparation and being able to see the curveball coming out of his hand," senior Tucker Baker said.

In the third inning, the Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out and came through with five runs to build on its lead. Junior Josh Dorren walked at the plate to bring the first run home, followed by Croissant driving in two runs with a single. Ford hit a ground ball in a spot to score a run, and an error on a fly ball hit to right field from senior Dolphus Grindle scored the final run of the inning.

Two more runs came home in the fourth on an error and double steal, and one more run for good measure was scored in the sixth by Dorren with an RBI single.

In the seventh inning, the Tigers allowed senior Trevor Dye the chance to close out his final home game of his high school career. He quickly got the first two batters out and then finished the game with a strikeout.

After missing out on the previous six years, the Tigers make a return to the postseason with the win over Merino. The team celebrated by pouring a bucket of water on Phillips after the game to celebrate their huge accomplishment the program had not seen in recent history.

"This really feels like all my dreams have come true now," Baker said. "We just have to take it one day at a time now."

Wiggins will now shift its focus to the 2A District 7 tournament, which begins on Friday in Akron. The top eight teams from the Lower Platte League will be competing for a chance to move on to the postseason next week. A big test will await the Tigers in the first round as they prepare to host Sedgwick County, a top two team that finished the regular season 17-1.

Despite what many feel is a steep climb, the Tigers are happy to still be alive this week.

"We need a really good two days of practice and focus," Oberg said. "It means a lot to be here. Our hard work is paying off, and now we'll look to make some noise in districts."

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